Wildfire Sat
February 22 2023 | 1200-1300 MST
The Government of Canada has committed to a full Canadian Operational Mission for the WildFireSat satellite mission, to be launched in 2029. The mission aims to adapt fire monitoring science to deliver the world’s first truly operational dedicated wildfire monitoring satellite mission. WildFireSat is designed with a uniquely Canadian solution to address critical gaps in satellite fire monitoring for Canada’s diverse geography, and to primarily address the needs of wildfire and smoke management. This presentation provides a summary of the system design, the concept of operations, alignment with existing systems, value-added data products, data delivery systems, and knowledge exchange strategy. The mission will deliver comprehensive situational awareness to wildfire managers and decision-makers in near-real-time, support smoke and air quality forecast services and carbon emission estimates.
Presented by:
Dr. Joshua Johnston is a former wildland fire fighter. Today he is a Forest Fire Research Scientist with the Canadian Forest Service and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the development of remote sensing tools for studying the physical properties of combustion and fire behaviour, as well as the adaptation of remote sensing tools for operational fire management. Dr. Johnston represents Canada’s satellite interests globally through a number of international leadership roles (e.g. GOFC-GOLD Fire Implementation Team and CEOS WGDisasters). In 2017 Josh launched Canada’s first national emergency tactical wildfire mapping systems, known as Torchlight. In 2018 he was named the Principal Investigator for the WildFireSat (WFS) satellite mission. In 2022 he led the mission to a fully funded state, making WildFireSat the world’s first publicly owned, purpose built operational wildfire monitoring satellite system (launch date 2029).